In principle, it is known to provide optical displays on the workstations of textile machines comprising a plurality of similar workstations, which display operating states and/or equip the workstations with a device which makes it possible to query the operating status of the workstation at the touch of a button.
Often devices are used or expanded for the display means which are already available in the textile machine, such as for example the yarn cleaner or the signal lights, which are arranged to be clearly visible via the workstations.
Said displays are designed to support the operating staff responsible for the correct operation of such multipoint textile machines. Operating staff cannot always recognize whether or not a workstation is producing, particularly from a distance or if there is fault for example. This means that operating staff often have to walk unnecessary distances or the workstations are at rest for longer than absolutely necessary.
Rapid intervention is extremely important as idle or low quality producing workstations result in a loss of production or a lower yield.
For example, it is known from German Patent Document DE 10 2006 045 237 A1 for example, to arrange a display on winding machines in the lining of each winding station, which indicates the type of fault and/or the location of the fault. For this the display is designed such that it includes several light-permeable individual images of possible faults and/or sites of faults, to which a light sources is assigned respectively, which can be controlled individually by the workstation computer. In this way it is easier for the operating staff to identify the type and location of the fault and to take the necessary corrective measures.
German Patent Document DE 10 2008 003 704 A1 discloses a method or a workstation of a semi-automatic open end spinning machine, which provides optimal support for the operating staff during operation, in particular with regard to the correct cross wound bobbin/empty sleeve exchange. In addition, each of the numerous workstations comprises a signal device which can be noticed by an operator even at a distance, which at the end of the bobbin journey of a cross wound bobbin displays that a predefinable thread length has been reached. To ensure that the operating staff can identify early that a cross wound bobbin/empty sleeve change is necessary, a flashing signal is generated which, when the cross wound bobbin is approaching the predefined thread length, has an increasingly high frequency. A continuous light shows that the predefined thread length has been reached at this workstation and production is stopped.
A sensor system for a ring spinning machine for recognizing so called creeping spindles is described in German Patent Document DE 199 29 467 A1. The sensor is suitable for delivering a signal which can be evaluated both for the display of a break in the thread and for the display of a “creeping state” of the spindle assigned to the sensor. The sensor can cooperate with an evaluation device and a display means, wherein the display means indicates the presence of a creeping state. The display means is preferably provided in the vicinity of the spindle. For the sensor and the display means a common mount can be provided.
A further alternative for a machine producing a ring yarn or pre-yarn can be taken from German Patent Document DE 34 06 215 A1. In order to be able to assign an error message function to the load carriers of the drafting systems, the handles of the load carriers are designed as signal lights, i.e. the handle is a gripping knob containing a signal light, and is made at least partly from a transparent or translucent material.
In general, a textile machine with a plurality of similar workstations is disclosed in German Patent Document DE 199 30 714 A1. By arranging a display device at each workstation a separate display device is also assigned to each individual control device. Furthermore, the data are available at each relevant workstation so that the operating staff on servicing the relevant workstation can perform or initiate the necessary measures straight away.
By activating the button once or several times in succession a different status of several queryable states of the workstation can be triggered and/or another of several definable functions can be triggered and/or scrolling texts can be provided for running through.
The methods and devices known from the referenced documents have the disadvantage however, that the possible operating states, which can displayed to be clearly visible, are limited. If displays are used in the form of signal lights, usually three or four light sources are used behind colored glass which signal the different operating states by having a different flashing frequency or continuous light. In this way however, only a small number of operating states can be represented.
However if displays are used as the display means more operating states can be shown, but only the current operating state of a respective workstation is displayed to the operating staff via a direct query to the display. In this way the display can be located directly on the respective workstation or at the end of the machine on the textile machine own central control device.